I personally just wish that people would make more effort to contribute to the conversation than to find a reason to pick apart someones statement.
I have to admit I've done this a few times, but it's literally a handful of times in over 1000 posts.
I don't think it's as bad now as what it was a few months ago, also certain regular moderator wannabe's who had quite a reputation for themselves seemed to have stopped their antics (thankfully).
But generally I do agree with you, there's too many people who are more interested in pointing out others mistakes than either trying to help someone or contribute to the discussion / topic.
There does sometime seem to be an unoffical competition amongst some members to see who can be most 'right' about as much as possible, you try to tell these guys anything different or give them a taste of their own medicine and all hell breaks loose. If you have the audacity to question their deemed superiority or status and put a crack their oh so fragile ego's it's as though you've just burnt their house down and killed their family, or worse.
I think this website is sometimes a victim of it's own success with this, many people in this world are competitive and status conscious, they want to be part of something successful. They 'build a position' on here and anyone that dares to question or undermine that deemed position or self appointed status just gets shot down in flames by any means necessary - and unfortunately, any kind of AUP violation is used to either reinforce or act a valid reason for these actions.
Shame really, there's some pretty cool guys on here, but also, there's alot of pretty cool guys I know who are still registered as members but have long since 'given up ' on this site - for the aforementioned reasons.
But with 190,000+ members, I have to admit I do get the feeling the site staff aren't too bothered about those who have given up, as there seems to be plenty more to replace them.
However, quantity, unfortunately, does not always guarantee quality. Personally I'd much prefer to see alot less members, but alot more altruistic, matured attitude and chilled out members rather than ego maniacs and competion to see who an be most right. Then again this is a business and as we all know, what's good for business isn't necessarily good for everyone concerned with that business - c'est la vie, deal with it or go elsewhere (I know). This is a private site, un-regulated and therefore it's run and it's rules enforced in a way seen fit by those that run it - you got to accept that or don't come here, because the likelihood is that won't ever change.
The attitude of some of the mods at some times don't help either, customer service, political correctness and diplomacy skills don't seem to be high on the agenda for some of them. Whereas reinforcing their postion on here and justifiying that by what they do in real life, aswell as sarcastic comments seems to be more important in some situations. If they act in this manner, what kind of example are they setting for others and is it no surprise that members will see this and act in the same way too because they think that's "how to do things" on here.
Other websites don't seem to have Mods with this attitude, I got many Mods and Admin staff from other GT forums on my friends list, they come into my lobby to chat or my race series regularly and have a much friendlier attitude, but if anyone steps out of line, they'll punish that person as necessary. They have a respect for fellow members and will often try to help and encourage, not this Headmaster talking to a naughty pupil attitude of some of the mods on here, which I feel others see and try to emulate.
I understand the grammer 'police' - this website is shared by many around the world who don't speak English as their first language, so proper grammer, spelling and punctuation should be practised at all times. I think this is a good idea and enforcing this should be a high priority, but it should be left to those who's job it is to do so, or the report button facility.
I know this might seem like an attack on the site staff and Mods, but it isn't, I'm just expressing my opinion. I've had some good experiences and responses with some Mods who have been very helpful, then again, I've experienced and seen things by the Mods that I feel are well out of order. What was said in this post isn't supposed to stir up hornet's nest amongst the site staff, just try and provide insight as to the problems the OP (and myself, plus many others) have experienced which we feel are detrimental to this site. Maybe these might be taken into consideration in the future, which, ultimately will make more member's experience of this site more enjoyable and be a win win situation for everyone.
Either that, or I'm gonna get shot down in flames, banned etc etc etc ..... oh well, I'll guess we'll see.
